Two-minute read.
There are as many reasons for Why Are We Here (WAWH) as there are human beings.
At the end of my second blog with this title, I noted 3 principles or disciplines that require commitment.
If you’re there right now then run with where we are for now. If you’re not there, no problem, I trust that it will come. Read along anyway, something might catch you!
Remember this is about – Measuring Faith. And to that, we move to read from Paul’s letter in Second Thessalonians 1:4:
“We ought always to thank God because our faith is growing more and more. The love every one of you has for each other is increasing.“
Among God’s churches, we boast about your perseverance and faith.
- …..your faith is growing more and more
Think of words like; Expanding, Deepening, or Imagining
Faith doesn’t survive long in neutral. Faith requires an application or it can die out quickly. It’s kind of like falling in love because it is falling in love, right?
Before there was just you, now there are two in the equation and they can be multiplied. The more attention we pay to God, the deeper impact God has in our lives.
Impact does what it’s supposed to. It changes, transforms, and renews. God pushes away the static while pulling us closer into a dynamic relationship.
2. …..love is increasing
This isn’t about romantic love. Paul is talking about agape love. Agape focuses away from self toward others. You could call that unconditional love.
There are a lot of things that can keep us from growing in Faith and increasing in Love.
Here are 3 words to watch out for. Fear, Cynicism, and Busyness. Give a look at those threesomes and consider if they are looking back at you!
3. …..we boast about your perseverance and faith…..
To “boast” about us is mainly about “pride’ But to boast for Paul was to – Celebrate!
The idea of boasting in the OT and NT was when God did something IN a person which that person could not have done on their own.
To persevere isn’t just to struggle. It is to struggle equipped with hope from the Holy Spirit.
Think Wilderness here, perseverance results in receiving fresh promises.
Let me finish with this quote from Abraham Lincoln;
“The struggle of today is not altogether for today, it is for a vast future also.”
God’s Peace –
MC
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